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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Šuica at the Demography Intergroup of the European Parliament Brussels, 24 February 2026 Dear Romana Tomc, Vasile Dincu, and Paolo Inselvini, Dear Ivan Šipić, Honourable Members, Thank you so much for the invitation to the EP Demography Intergroup. I am very happy to be with you this morning. As the Commissioner for Demography and as a forme...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Šuica at the Demography Intergroup of the European Parliament Brussels, 24 February 2026 Dear Romana Tomc, Vasile Dincu, and Paolo Inselvini, Dear Ivan Šipić, Honourable Members, Thank you so much for the invitation to the EP Demography Intergroup. I am very happy to be with you this morning. As the Commissioner for Demography and as a former MEP. It is very good to see the Croatian minister for demography with us who is very pragmatic. Let me also express a big thanks for all the work of this Intergroup, your dedication, and your valuable input to our common whole-of-society undertaking. You have the “demographic winter” in the title of this meeting. And we are really experiencing difficult demographic trends. They are challenges and there are opportunities. The main trend we are observing is longevity. And I can give you some numbers. In the past 50 years, we have added 10 years to the average lifespan, often referred to as longevity. Life-expectancy has risen. It is now at 81.4 years on average. And this is good news. At the same time, however, our fertility rate is at a new historic low of 1.35 births per woman on average. Just a few examples: Here in Belgium, it stands at 1.73. In France, the rate is 1.62. In Germany, it is at 1.35, whereas in Italy, the fertility rate stands at 1.18. Similar figures appear all over the developed world, but also less-developed countries seem to go in that direction. This clearly is an issue for all Member States. As a reminder, the replacement rate that would allow the population to remain as it is, stands at 2.1. What is the European Commission doing? Yes, it is a question of competences. There are the treaty articles and there is cohesion policy. They allow us to work on demography. The local, regional, and national level will help us to achieve something in the medium to longer term. Measures need to be taken at the national level to meet the particular needs on the ground. However, we are facing comparable challenges, so we need close collaboration and exchange to identify best practise for the way ahead. In the European Commission, we are continuing our work on the challenges of demography. Our role is to support Member States and provide coordination and recommendations. And to bring Member States and stakeholders together. Let me briefly outline our priorities in the near future. We are still implementing the Demography Toolbox and coming up with a series of new initiatives. We will soon present the Intergenerational Fairness Strategy. It will be a holistic approach towards the societal challenges and responses. I am working to ensure that the Strategy includes a Longevity Roadmap covering, for example longevity education (to increase the awareness of the implications on society), ensuring future housing is fit for all generations, or digital education to cater for the increasing number of services that are provided online. Before the summer break, we will present the 3rd Demography Report. We had two previous reports – one around Covid and a second one around Brexit. If you know that one third of all European households are single person households, you will see why housing policy is very important. The 3rd Demography Report will be a comprehensive update of the findings on the driving factors of demographic change, the impact in all Member States on e.g. the labour market, household composition, or social exclusion risks, and recommendations for policy action. Finally, I am focusing on the wider picture and the possibility to devise and launch a Demography Strategy. I hope to have your support in making this Strategy a priority in this mandate. Honourable Members, The Demography Strategy brings me to the Commission's proposal for the next multi-annual EU budget, the MFF 2028-2034. There we have anchored the need to address demographic trends in the objectives of the National and Regional Plans. The negotiations on the MFF are going to enter the most intense phase still this year. I would like to ask you to support the demography-related objectives and investments. They are a key element of future-proofing the European Union. Dear colleagues, Our joint work on demography is a long-term occupation. It is a cross-cutting task at all policy levels. And it is an issue of competitiveness. But let us not forget that, at the same time, it is also a matter of dignity and opportunities for all generations. Thank you again for your dedication to this task and for your contributions as Members of this House. You see that we have issues to deal with. There is a long way to go, and agency is needed. Someone needs to deal with this topic of demography scientifically – together with politicians. And we need agency for demography at the European level – especially when we talk about competitiveness. We do need human investment – artificial intelligence cannot replace everything. We have to think profoundly on this issue and we will need all of you here to support. Thank you so much and I look forward to our discussion. SPEECH/26/463 Press contacts: Guillaume MERCIER (+32 2 29 80564) General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email
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